Ten jobs that could be facing extinction

WE HAVE some bad news for you. If you’re in one of these 10 professions, you might need to start thinking about a new line of work.

IF YOU dream of becoming a flight attendant or a newspaper reporter, you might need to rethink those plans — both professions are among this year’s most endangered jobs.

Topping CareerCast’s list of the occupations that are quickly becoming endangered are mail carriers — a job projected to lose 28 per cent of its workforce by 2022. Kyle Kensing, CareerCast’s online content editor, said technology is reducing the need for mail carriers.

“More and more people are choosing to correspond via email or text message, dramatically slashing the amount of mail and reducing the need for postal services,” Kensing said. “Programs like PayPal also allow for people to electronically transfer funds they would have otherwise sent through the mail.”

CareerCast based its ranking on the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ projected hiring outlook for the next seven years, as well as the changing economic landscape.

The research shows that many of the most endangered jobs are being hurt by technological advances in their fields. These include meter readers, a job that’s projected to have the second-biggest drop in growth over the next seven years.

The study’s authors said that because utility usage can now be tracked digitally, the need for on-site readers to manually record water or electrical consumption at individual households and businesses is diminishing.

Newspaper reporter is another job being negatively affected by technology; the internet has posed huge challenges for the entire newspaper industry. However, the dwindling opportunities for newspaper reporters don’t mean their skills are not sought. The researchers said newspaper reporters have skill sets that will allow them to easily migrate from print into digital media, marketing, advertising and public relations.

Here are the 10 most endangered jobs of 2015, and their projected growth outlook:

• Mail carrier: minus 28 per cent

• Meter reader: minus 19 per cent

• Farmer: minus 19 per cent

• Newspaper reporter: minus 13 per cent

• Jeweller: minus 10 per cent

• Logging worker: minus 9 per cent

• Flight attendant: minus 7 per cent

• Drill-press operator: minus 6 per cent

• Insurance underwriter: minus 6 per cent

• Seamstress/tailor: minus 4 per cent

The study’s authors advise those who currently have, or are interested in, one of these careers to have a viable secondary option to help protect themselves against changes in the employment market.

This article originally appeared in BusinessNewsDaily and was reproduced with permission.

Originally published as Ten jobs that could be facing extinction